April 28, 2020 • 47 mins
John Michael Reefer has been working as an independent producer since 1988. Producing his first feature “The Game”. The story of a contentious race for the Mayor of New York City during the late 80’s. Directed by Curtis Browne. Most recently “Holy Air” John Michael’s collaboration with writer, director Shady Srour was an official selection at the 2017 “Tribeca Film Festival” The film was picked-up by Samuel Goldwyn for a limited theatrical release in the US. “Holy Air” is currently available on “Amazon’s” streaming platform. “Holy Air” tells the story of Adam. When learns that his wife Lamia is pregnant and his father falls very ill, he evaluates his life and realizes that he has not achieved much. Despite all his failed business ideas, he makes one last attempt to try to make it big. And what's better to sell the very air that the Virgin Mary breathed during her annunciation in the Holy Land? But in order to do so, as one priest tells Adam during confession, one needs to find allies from the three cultures ruling Nazareth - the Jewish politicians, the Muslim mafia, and the Catholic Church officials. In a politically unstable world where religion is just merchandise, can Holy Air become Adam's salvation? John Michael produced the “Emmy Nominated” television series “The Rich and The Ruthless” written and directed by Victoria Rowell. Which is currently in it’s third season on the streaming platform “Urban Movie Chanel” (UMC) “The Rich and The Ruthless”. The only black owned daytime drama, is operated by tight fisted, debonair, self-made, Augustus Barringer. When greedy studio executives tell him the show is getting booted off the sound stages after 20 years, he is ready to fight back to stay on the air, even if it means filming his quirky soap opera out of his sleek Hollywood mansion or moving the company to Jamaica!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and
TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transition to
a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Thomaz.
I audition every rapper from Biggias Balls to Tupac, and
(00:24):
I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help
transitioning to acting. My clients consist of musical artists from
Buster Rhymes to Eve, Missy Elliott, Angela Ye from The
Breakfast Club, and Vanessa Simmons, to name a few. I
also coach sports stars and host as well. I feel
(00:45):
I have the best of both worlds. As a casting director,
I know exactly what they're looking for, and as an
acting coach, I can coach you to be remembered in
that room. Now I know, I know actors want to
get the job. I get that, but being remembered by
a casting director that is powerful. And now it's time
for meditation of the day. You must begin wherever you are,
(01:10):
Jack Boland. As an actor, you are going to be
required to make a lot of decisions in your life.
If you learn now to trust your inner voice, you
will make the right choices because those choices come from
a higher place. I have had endless situations where I
(01:31):
have listened and learned from my inner voice. If acting
is what you truly want to do, then do it.
Do it with love, and share your talents with the world.
They may not appreciate love them all the time, but
the important thing is that you do today. I will
(01:54):
allow my inner voice to coach me along the way.
Welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
And I can't even begin to tell you how heartwarming
this conversation is going to be today, I am. It's not.
(02:16):
It's gonna be riveting. Um, it's truly inspiring. Um. John
is so many things. He are our guest today is
I want to say, producer extraordinary. I always add extraordinaire John,
So yeah, I'm gonna give you that. He is producer,
award winning, producer, extraordinariy. Mr John Michael Reefer, put your
(02:41):
hands together, ladies and gentlemen. Yeay, John, Welcome to the show. John,
Thank you well, it's a it's a pleasure to be
sitting here. Chatting with you. We're all chatting from home now. Yes,
we are in isolation for a reason. And um, I
love I mean just to start off, ladies and gentlemen,
(03:05):
to see the background, which is, um, I can't even
just is this a poster board that is aren't rigged? Yeah,
it's supposed to board. I mean I made it into
my back round, but I have it all the time,
so it's suppost to board on. What I decided to
do is so all the projects that I'm interested in
keeping track of or developing, I've got them listed in
(03:28):
order of genre, so docuseries, films, books, um, pitch ideas,
I've got them listed. And then who's involved in the
projects as that changes um. And then in terms of
the hierarchy of which project is further along in development,
which is of it needs more work or sometimes just
(03:48):
have to let it go one of the projects that's
on the board. Um, don Cheeto, Uh, I don't. I
wouldn't say cheated me out of but don Cheeto found
it as interesting as I did to raise money more
quickly than so I'm looking forward to to their interpretation
of it. Okay, Well, I mean for for my audience
that cannot see this. Um. It is so organized, it
(04:14):
is so thorough, it is so clean, like you know, UM,
I have to say that. UM. In all the years,
which is well over twenty years that I've known you,
it has been such a pleasure to watch your growth
in this industry. And we grew up together, so you know,
UM going back to you know, to the early Spike
(04:37):
Lee days. UM, and you earlier than me, um because UM,
yeah yeah, not yeah, I mean I was there. I
just hadn't gotten to forty acres in the mule yet,
but you were there. I don't know if I don't
even know, for I don't think forty acres existed when
I was there. So my my real relationship with Spike,
(05:00):
I was hired as a costume designer for She's Got
to Have It, um, and it was as a series
of seven tiputous events brought me in front of him,
and uh it worked out and I got hired to
design the costumes for that particular film. I've been I've
been working on Sale. That was that was my first,
(05:20):
my first opportunity as a costume designer. I've been working
prior to that and working as a wardrobe person. My
original my My foundational experience was a Parson School design
and I worked as a designer. So I worked as
a kind of degrees to fashion design. I worked on
Seventh Avenue and I got a really great opportunity of
a friend of mine was having some difficulty at the
(05:42):
Light Opera Company in Manhattan and somebody I got fired,
I don't remember which one it is, and that person
I went in to help them with the costumes. It
was the Pirates of Penzance was also helping them. The
warder woman there worked for Woody Island's cost some designer,
and she said, you know you so pretty quickly, and
(06:03):
you seem like you know what you're doing. You want
to work such a joy. So she wrote this address
and said come here on Monday and we'll put you
to work. So that was the year that the Year's case,
but it was pop Rosa Cairo, and my first job
that day was putting a hem in that new or
Pharaoh was wearing. So that that began one of my
(06:23):
favorite movies working in the film because at that point
I was I was working on Seventh Avenue and my
career track was set to at some point be a
fashion designer. Have my own label and you know, be
Willie Smith, the third Oh my god, Willie Smith. So
I ended up working as a warder supervisor for I think,
(06:47):
I did another, I did another Woody Allen film, and
then I just I got sucked into the business and
I began working as a wigious supervisor and then in
art and uh. But as as I kept doing that,
I knew that my skill set is a fashion designer,
could be useful. So I kept looking for an opportunity
(07:08):
to custom design and a friend of mine, Tracy Kimilla
johns interes like and gave me the opportunity to design
a film, which is She's got to Have It mm hmm,
the first not the first, uh, theatrically released because he
had Joe's Barbershop. PRIs he done Joe's Barbershop. And I
(07:30):
knew a number of people from that experience. But I wasn't.
I wasn't in the cool loop because right really like,
I wasn't outside here. Well, She's got to have It
his classic, and I mean, you know, blessed he was
able to bring it back, you know, so that speaks
of its work. I wanted to share with the audience
(07:51):
that um, you know, UM, you sent me this beautiful breakdown.
UM tried to be a summary of your career. But
the last part, the takeaway. I want to read this
to the audience because I think that, especially now, it's
very valid. Right, so you say about your life the
(08:14):
takeaway of these stories, be open to luck happening to you,
Be willing to contribute your best efforts when you show up. Lastly,
do the right thing whether anyone is watching or not. Yeah,
I would say, I mean, I think the broader audience
(08:37):
for your podcasts are actors maybe yeah, I mean creative things.
And I think, you know, it's really really hard because actors,
they don't have any idea of the arbitrary nature of
what this is. I mean, an actor shows up in
a room and maybe they got some sides, maybe they didn't,
And I think there's a lot of that they tie
(08:59):
into that. I think I would suggest that they try
to let go of which is trying to just be
in the room. I've been in so many situations where
what the producers director was looking for specifically, and someone
else showed up, uh, and they showed up as themselves,
(09:20):
and the energy of them of being themselves created a
whole gravitational force shifted everybody's imagination and go, wow. You
know the the lead as a woman, she's blond and
she's tall, and she said, and somebody who is not blond,
not tall, and not considered sexy shows up and makes
(09:44):
and makes magic in the room. Be open to luck,
be open to be open to be open to the
possibility that you, indeed are the right person for the
moment that you're in. Uh, because you just you never know.
I mean, you're you as a casting director, no, working
with directors, the director will tell you I'm looking for this.
(10:05):
So you down in a in a grade, you know,
women that are five feet tall, women of a certain age,
and sorry, and then somebody sneaks in the casting room
and who's that right? And I always say, that's why
there's the eracers, liquid paper and to Lee Button's changes
happen all the time. For actors, I would say, be
(10:27):
open to luck. And in terms of people, creatives and productions,
be open to luck because you know you if you,
if you put yourself in the path of great opportunity,
let let the great opportunity unfold for you. Sometimes we
get tied to you get tied to a specific outcome,
(10:47):
and you know you let you let go what is
the better of the two outcomes? UM, and I and
I so appreciate love UM what you're saying directly to
actors because they need to hear this because a lot
of times it's about the media gratification. A lot of
(11:07):
times it's about you know, UM, making it happen and
moving it along. I want you to UM tell them
because you are an award winning producer, and I do
want you to tell them the story, the beginning and
how that par laid, because it is about your work ethic.
You know, I'm ladies and gentlemen, I'm not making fun
(11:29):
of his background. I'm saying this is why he is
where he is. You know, there's a plan, their strategy,
and you are also taking um advantage of this time
where we're all on the same plane right now, and
so we have two choices, and you've chosen to continue
to forge on and to coninue to continue to want
(11:52):
and we need to hear that and see that. So UM,
that's what that background is about. But it's also the
integrity that you talk about because you never know who
people are, right and just a quick little thing when
I was the casting director, My assistant and I we
would rush towards the elevator. Right as the elevator doors
(12:13):
would close, and we would say hold the door, hold
the door. And back then, you know, we had the
big VHS is camera black pod son right, so we
would say hold the door, hold the door, and they
and they'd be like uh right, and the door were closed.
Cut too. They would be the actor walking into the
(12:34):
room and I'm sitting behind the table, was the casting director.
Treat people's son. And that's the humanity part that I
love about you as well. So I want you to
walk them through that story. Uh, the last the last
story that I sent you, the first story, the first
The first story is just serendipity. Like I said, Tracy
(12:57):
Kamila Johns is a We were great schoolmates, um in
suburban Queens, New York, and we went We simply ran
into each other. I think she was working as an
extra on he project and I was a p A
or something, and she started to tell me that she's
involved in this really amazing project. UM, and I really
should meet the director and I I was really looking
(13:18):
for an opportunity to become a costume designer UM to
show my my worth, and you know I was. I
was open to her doing that. And I think what
I would say to people is, you know, you talked
to somebody who's an extra and they say, there's a
great opportunity. I think it could have been easy to
dismiss that and go, oh yeah, yeah, yeah whatever. Sure right,
I was open to it, you know, she she, she
(13:40):
and I've been really good friends for a long time,
and so I said, okay, sure, I set up the meeting,
and I think we had we had two meetings, and
you know, I liked the story. We talked about what
he was interested in, and I was hired. And this
was back in the old days. It wasn't that it
wasn't a complicated process. But I suspect that the person,
(14:03):
the two or three people that could have come before me,
uh would have been hired. So I'm not taking the
advantage of having luck worked for me and and show up. UM.
Then I wouldn't have had that opportunity, which has led
to some you know, great creative moments, long friendships and relationships,
and you know, I really really great first foray into
(14:28):
storytelling and moviemaking. UM from the ground up because that
was that was the first feature that I worked on
as a costume designer, and having worked on a number
of really huge, you know, ten twenty million dollar movies,
I didn't have any sense of how complicated movie making
was when we did She's Got to Have It. I
(14:49):
think that when weybe twenty of us in a very
hot loft and UM, I saw what people did and
understood that, and all those lessons imprinted on me as
I finally became a producer, creating work of my own
and helping other people to create work. All those lessons
from making She's got to Have It in a number
of indie, low budget movies guide my my hand as
(15:13):
we made movies until stories. You definitely have the work
ethic of by any means necessary. So I want you
to tell us about UM as an independent producer prior
to you getting there, how the story of how you
were able to UM land that job as associate producer
(15:34):
on the film. So I was making a movie, Uh,
it's it's I don't know if it's available anywhere. This
movie called The Game, which is a really interesting story
about about the Mayor's race in New York City and
it's offering confused with the Michael Douglas movie, which it's not. Yes,
and this movie has a little more bite in depth
to it. So I was a wardrob assistant on that film,
(15:56):
and the film had run into tremendous financial trouble. We
were shooting in New York at the Courthouse on the
East Side and uh, East Harlem, and the crew hadn't
been paid for I think about two weeks. So uh.
During that during that particular session, we're doing quote room scene. Uh.
(16:19):
At the end of lunch, the crew walked off the
set and they had a conflict. They demanded their money
and it didn't work out. So as we said that
there waiting because we were I was upstairs, I didn't
know all this was going on, waiting and waiting for
us to come back from munch. Finally someone says, what's
going on and how long does it gonna take? So
probably I mean an hour, hour and a half have passed.
(16:40):
So I go to the producer and I go listen, workstairs,
what's going on with you know what what's happening? And
I recognized, first of all, nobody was there. It was
just a producer and his wife, UM and he lamented
to me that they were demanding their money. Um, and
they all walked off and if I want to leave
to you, I could leave. And I wasn't part of
that sort of hierarchy, so I was like all right.
(17:03):
So I went up to see us pack up the
crew and pack up the casters and listen shooting more
so someone asked me what happened and I told him.
He said there was a dispute about money. Um. So
the crews walked off and this extra says to me, well,
how much money? And I'm like, well, I don't know, okay,
well can you find out? I'm like fine, So I
(17:25):
go down to the producers the extra upstairs, asking how
much money is this dispute over? The producer was fifteen
dollars it does at math wages for the last two weeks.
So I go and I tell this guy. Turns out
the guy the guy was an extra who was moonlighting
as an attorney, and he goes, is that all? That's?
That's all this was about? So I said him, apparently is.
(17:49):
So I introduced the producer and they started talking about
what it is, and we shut down for a week,
and that attorney helped us raise the back the fifteen
dollars to pay off the crew to get a new crew.
We got a new crew, we started shooting, we ran
out of money again. So it result making the first connection.
(18:12):
I got bumped up from wardrobe supervisor ward your assistant
to associate producer. So at some point the guy goes, well,
how much wh do you guys need? So then he said,
I said, well, I'm not really sure, so we'd be
take a meeting. We talked about it, and he helped
us raise the remaining budget for the film to complete
the movie. This is nine, This is nineteen eighties, six
(18:35):
eight seven, around the crash. Wow. He helped us raise
eight hundred thousand dollars to complete the film. That's so
I was. I went from wardrobe assistant to social producer
to producer, and you know that experienced. I decided that
(18:56):
I would I wouldn't make any story that anybody would
compensate me, or even times they wouldn't. So I made
music videos and infomercials and corporate and just anything, um that,
anything that I could forget a way to pay a crew,
get some equipment, and pay an editor. I showed up
(19:17):
and for a long time, you know, it was really difficult. Um,
it was very very often I did not make enough
money at the end of the year to breaking so
many time. For many years, not only was I for
a producer, I was on the margins of the edge
of the margins, right. But I got the bug and
(19:40):
I just I love telling stories and I began to
really gravitate towards helping other people tell their stories. Production
knowledge led me to understand how to execute. So for
a while and maybe two or three years, I made
students and I exclusively made student film. So I worked
with a number of graduate students from n YU, Columbia
(20:03):
u C L A. K. Hunter, and I helped them
make their films. UM and I was, you know, I
was able to have these really simple conversations. I read
the script, I talked to them. We talked about how
much money they had they needed to raise, how they
could deliver a film, and I helped them do that.
(20:26):
My resume probably includes about maybe fifty short films. I'm
really really proud of a number of A number of
those directors are household names or established figures in the
industry now that I can rely on for advice or um.
We sometimes connect on projects and work together. That's great
(20:48):
that you've maintained those relationships and that they pay it
forward like that too. I mean, that says a lot
about you, and you know the knowledge and the wisdom
that you're passing at the time on too the next year.
I mean, I think that what I've been able to
do with my skill set is really hone in on
not having much money but delivering in the end, because
(21:11):
the number you know, people get started to make a
film and they have these great ideas and for a
long time, I mean probably also the nineties, there was
a movement to get it in the can and a
number of people that I know still have movies in
the cast. I focused my sights a little longer, which
(21:32):
was how can we do how can we deliver this
movie and get it into audiences um hands, so it's
just a film festival or even if it's just for
your cousins, to to show your work, be proud of it,
and to learn because sometimes you make a story that
you really believe in, but you may not have the
appropriate skill set to execute that story. And then you
(21:54):
discover that. I mean, I recognize a number of the
people that I worked with in the past. They really
to really come to Jesus moment to realize that this
making making movies wasn't for them, storytelling money in terms
of managing executing this, this wasn't for them. And they
learned it ten dollars and five dollars and they didn't
(22:17):
learn it after raising a half a million dollars and
just embarrassing themselves because they weren't ready or this wasn't
for them. This is not for everyone, No, it's not.
There's a stamina that you need in this, you know,
just in general, and a body stamina, mind stamina, spirit
stamina to stay in because I'm sure you know as
(22:40):
well there are people that you work with in the
beginning that are not in the industry now by choice.
They look or got frustrated or you know, and so
that we were were a difficult place, you know, being
minorities telling stories that are of interest to us. I
think it is my hope that as we emerge from
(23:01):
this reset right now, maybe people will storytellers as well
as talent um begin to make a decision to tell
the stories we want to tell. One of the one
of the one of the real drawbacks of this business
is we are narrowly pigeonhiled into telling the stories we
think we can sell. When I work with student filmmakers,
(23:25):
I really encourage them to go for it because this
is probably the last opportunity you're gonna have to tell
the story you want to tell and say what you
want to say. UM. And then you know, the passion
that goes into that is the thing that people get
on screen when they see your story, and it resonates
with them because it's really a passionate story. But as
you as you get into the industry, you begin to
(23:48):
work with people who who's decision with the decision makers
who have decided what they think is important. UM. So
you know your your first and mostly sometimes only opportunity
is to sell an idea UM. And I think this
may be the moment that we need to take to
think about the ideas we just we simply just want
to make yeah, and use our energy, resources, talent and
(24:12):
team to make those stories. However we can at what scale.
I don't know if it's I don't know if it's
as important as it used to be to have your
movie UM in a theater where people sat down to watch, right.
I don't think that's ever going to go away. I
don't know if that is as important as it used
to be, which gives you altitude. You might not need
(24:34):
as wide an audience in order to have your venture
be successful in terms of paying off your investors or
giving you the opportunity to make your next project. I agree. Um,
what advice do you have to actors, especially during this
time where you know we are in isolation and um,
you know they're they're creative beings. You know. I encourage
(24:58):
them as actors to keep honing their craft and working
on acting. You know, we have zoom, so you have
the ability to read scenes with someone you know. Um,
I coach via Skype sessions. So as a producer, being inventive,
Twinkie Bird has this short film one minute. Um, you
(25:20):
shoot it on any smartphone device and um, you have
to shoot it, edit it and it's one minute, right,
So you know, what advice would you give them in
terms of writing their story? What story? Well, I would
say the first thing that I would say would seem counterintuitive,
which is to read. I think making an opportunity to
(25:42):
create depth in your understanding of the world will will
carry you in the room in a different way. So
I would say, read read books, read philosophy, read autobiographies,
read novels. I would also say, if you if you
think you have the act, learn another language, because if
(26:02):
you learn another language, then you have an opportunity to
delve into the stories of that particular culture, which again
gives you depth. Because I think what is powerful is
an actor understands the story. Right. Well, I'm the hero,
I'm the villain. You know, I'm a girlfriend, I'm the boyfriend.
But the story, the depth of the story, the archive
(26:23):
it So I mean in in the Western America, Shakespeare
is what people hold in high regard the number of
the number of other stories. Uh, but read read read, read,
read read. And I would say the other thing is,
you know, look at all the stories that look at
all the stories that were made from movies. I would
(26:44):
go back and read those books and watch those movies
because I think, again, you need to understand. You need
to understand what the filmmakers decided to do and how
they were inspired. So if you if you read the
book and see see that the the depth of what
the filmmakers has called from, you can walk in the
(27:04):
room with more depth than I'm the wife. You know,
you're the wife in nineteen fifty, your wife in forty,
you're the wife eighteen hundred. Um, you're the wife in
the third century. What does that mean? And contextually what
does that mean about how the character moves, how they breathe,
how they eat, what they understand about the world. If
(27:28):
you're if you don't have adaptive knowledge of these of
all these ideas, you you just read the size. Yeah,
you shout or you whisper when you it's more than that,
a lot more than that. Um. And I think building,
I think building a team is another important thing. Look
(27:49):
for people who are like minded in terms of especially
actors to work with, to bounce ideas off of, to
get clear, um, honest, supportive critique about your work and
your capacity. Okay, and the actors, I think you know,
act Look at a movie. Yeah, take a scene, get
(28:13):
your friends together, get a camera and and do re
enactments of those beats and those moments to see if
to see if you can find your own voice in
right or to see if you can understand what's happening. Excellent.
You know what. I'm so sad because this is the
end of the interview. Um. It flew by like I
(28:34):
have a list of questions that I did not get too.
It seems that, you know, I feel so blessed that
everybody that comes on the show. Um, they're just a
wealth of knowledge that we can't get in twenty eight minutes.
So John, again, I always extend the invitation to people
to come back, and I would love to talk more
(28:54):
in depth about your specific films and also your relationship
as a producer with actors. So I am gonna reach
out to you again, my friend. Um, So, John, I
know that the actors are so inspired by your words
and your wisdom. They want to reach out to you.
How can they reach out to you? Uh, anyone from
(29:16):
your listening audience, gonna reach me at John Reefer on Instagram,
John Reefer on like Frank on Instagram. Excellent, all right,
thank you for being on the show. It was It
was mind blowing and definitely inspiring. And storytelling this is
(29:37):
what we really do. We tell stories. So the stories
that are going on now, I'm sure there's some amazing
stories that are going on in our world right life,
in the time of the pandemic, there are a lot
of stories. Yep. So um, we will stay positive, we
will stay healthy and well. Um, so your hands don't
(29:58):
touch your face. Okay, all right, thank you, Thank you,
John Reef, appreciative of um. And next we're going to
have Class in Session on the Spirited Actor Podcast with
me Tracy Moore. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor Podcast
with me Tracy Moore, and this is my favorite segment,
(30:22):
Class in Session and we have Spirited Actor alumni lean
A Motto Yeah and welcoming for his first time Miles Ross.
Thank you my Spirited actors for being here and doing
(30:43):
the waves. Thank you for doing the wave. That's always important. Okay,
So we're gonna continue on with the show and we
have a scene that um, Leanne and Miles are going
to read. I'm gonna read the slug lines and I'm
gonna challenge you actors to email me and tell me
what a slug line is. You can email me at
(31:06):
the Spirited Actor Podcast at gmail dot com, The Spirited
Actor Podcast at gmail dot com and let me know
what a slug line is. I want to make sure
you're listening to the podcast and that you're learning as well. Okay,
so we're gonna start the scene off you guys ready, yes, okay,
(31:29):
Penthouse living room interior evening. Edward comes in, followed by Vivian.
Edward looks at his mail lying on a small table.
Vivian throws her hat and gloves on another table with
a nervous movement. Edward turns around to look at her. Yeah,
(31:50):
you are right, be fine. She walks away. Fine, that's
that's good. Seven seven fine. Since we left the mat,
can I get into the word? Please? Vivian interest the bathroom, asshole,
there's a word. She slams the bathroom door. I think
(32:11):
I like fine better. Edward drops his mail and the
newspaper on the desk. Vivian opens the bathroom door and
stands near the open door. You know what to tell me?
One thing? Why did you make me get all dressed up? Well? Well,
for one thing, clothing was appropriate. You know what I
mean is if you were going to tell everyone that
(32:32):
I'm a hooker, why didn't you just let me wear
my own clothes? I did not, I mean my own clothes.
When someone like that guy Stucky comes up to me,
I can handle it. I'm prepared. Edwards starts unlacing his shoe.
Vivian is trying unsuccessfully to open a bottle of Coca Cola.
I'm very sorry. I'm not happy with study at all
(32:56):
for saying or doing that. But he is my attorney.
I've known for for ten years. He talked to me
some kind of industrial spot. He's he's paranoid. So what
do you like my pimp? Now? You know? Do you
think it would just passed me to your friends? I'm
not some little toy. Look, you're not my toy. Okay,
I know you're not my toy. She walks towards that room. Vivian, Vivian,
(33:21):
I'm speaking to you. Come back here. Dadian was ready
to enter the bathroom, but she turns around. I hate
to point out the arbies, but you are, in fact
a hooker, and you are my employee. Look, you don't
own me. Okay, I decide who. I decided. When I
(33:42):
decide who, I refuse to spend the next three days
fighting with you. I said I was sorry, I meant it,
and that's the end of it. I am sorry that
I ever met you. She walks away into the bathroom.
(34:03):
You know, I'm sorry that I ever got into your
stupid car. He walks towards the bathroom, enters it and
starts taking his tie off in front of the mirror,
as if you had many more appealing options. If then
comes back to the bathroom door carrying a bunch of clothes.
I have never ever had anyone in my life make
(34:24):
me feel as cheap as you did today. Somehow I
find that very hard to believe. She gets out of
the bathroom with her arms full of clothes. She picks
up a small handbag and puts it on her shoulder.
Then she tries to pick up a larger handbag. Um,
where are you? Where you going? I want my money.
(34:45):
I want to get out of here. He gets his
wallet from inside pocket jacket. He opens the wallet and
gets a large wad of bank notes out of it.
They're all hundred dollar bills. Vivian, who has a move,
starts walking away towards the living room without taking the money.
She leaves interior penthouse hallway. Vivian, standing near the elevator,
(35:07):
nervously presses on the elevator call button. Come on, we
hear the penthouse for our opening, but Vivian doesn't look
at it and keeps looking at the elevator in front
of her. Edward is coming out of the penhouse and
walks towards Vivian. I'm sorry. I wasn't I wasn't prepared
(35:30):
to answer questions about us, and it was stupid and
and cruel and I didn't mean it. Okay, I don't
want you to go. Keep you stay the week. Why
(35:56):
I saw you talking to David morse O. I didn't
like it. We were just talking. He chuckles. I didn't
like it. The elevator door dings, The elevator door opens,
and a smiling Dennist appears down. Dennis feels some tension
(36:19):
between Edward and Vivian and stop smiling. He goes back
into the elevator, presses a button and the door closes.
You hurt me, Yes, I don't do it again. They
look at each other for a couple of seconds and
(36:39):
slowly walked back to the penthouse and seeing Wow, nice
you guys, nice Wow, I felt attention. UM. I'm gonna
give you guys a couple of notes. Um, So the
truth is, every actor has an intention. What do you want?
So what is the truth? Lean? What do you want?
(37:01):
I mean, I want to be with him, but I
want to people you know, respected, and he hasn't made
me feel anything less than that up until this point, right,
I want to feel important. I want to feel like
a priority and a person I think more than anything else.
Because him identifying you as a hooker, his friends identifying
(37:22):
you as a hooker, it's almost like permission to disrespect
you or you know, you're not really one of us.
So I think that just and he's the last person
that you would have thought that would have made you
feel like that. Right. So if you, Miles, you have
this front that you are keeping up, and that's not
(37:44):
the truth of who you are. Um. You may be
about that life and the money and you know, the prestige,
but in terms of the core, what do you want? Honestly?
Okay it you know, but it's kind of like trying
to keep that macho mannus about me, right, But that
(38:09):
that doesn't work in a relationship. You know, you have
to be vulnerable in a relationship. You have to try
to seek understanding. And at the end, you know, I
realized that, and I understand that, and I realized, you know,
some of the things that I said I shouldn't have
said from my own ego and from my own pride,
and before you come out of the penhouse, and this
is where actors need to do the work and prepare,
(38:31):
but before you come out of the penhouse, all of
that work needs to be done. You need to be
conflicted while she's at that elevator. Why are you conflicted?
You know, are you gonna be vulnerable? Which is you
know that's trusting? Do you trust her to be vulnerable?
There's a lot of stuff before you come out that
you need to go through the layers of because that's
(38:53):
going to give so much weight to the scene. And
then you just want to get out of there because
now you found the true lee and of what he
really thinks it m h and that you know, just
don't do it again. Whatever his act his reaction is,
it's got to confirm to you that he's never going
to do that again. He learned his lesson, because why
(39:15):
else would you go into the penthouse? Yeah, I have
to feel like like his sincerity about it. Yeah, that
has to resonating. And Miles, you have to give her
something to make her feel that. One of the things
that I do like is how you are giving these
breaths to her and these pauses, which is making it
difficult to really say what you want to say, and
(39:36):
she's not letting up on it, which is very engaging
to watch. Okay, so let's do it again, you guys,
and let's let's pull from those things. Let's pull from
the truth. The truth is both of you, Um, you're
at that stage where you both really like each other almost.
Let you know, we're past the lust and now it's
(39:57):
that place where it's like, well, who who am I
in your life? M hmm? What is you know? I mean?
And if you want me, fine claim me. Okay, all right,
let's see that. All right, So we're gonna do it again,
you guys, and I'm not going to read the slug
(40:17):
line whatever that is. Ladies and gentlemen who are gonna
email me and tell me, And I'm not gonna read
the action. You guys are just gonna go with the scene.
So we're gonna watch it. Okay, when are you guys?
Are ready? You? Are you all right? I'm fine? Fine?
(40:43):
That's good? Five five seven fine? Since we left the match,
can I can I get another word? Please? Mm hm asshole? Okay,
there's a word find better? You know what? Just to me?
One thing? Why did you make me get all dressed up? Well?
(41:06):
One thing? Clothing was appropriate? No, I mean you were
gonna just tell everybody that I'm a hooker. I did
not no, and in my own clothes. When someone like
like I stuck he comes up to me, I can
handle it. I am prepared. I'm very sorry. I'm not
(41:28):
happy with Stucky at all for what he for for
saying or doing that, but he's my attorney. I've known
it for ten years. You know, you thought you were
some some kind of industrious spy the guys per annoyed.
So what do you like, my pimp? Now? You think
you could just pass me off to your friends because
I'm not some little toy. But you're you're You're not
(41:52):
my toy. I know you're not my toy. Vivian, Vivian.
I'm it until you come back here. I hate to
point out the obvious, but you are, in fact a hooker,
and you are my employee. Listen, you don't own me. Okay,
(42:18):
I say who, and I say when I say who,
I refuse to spend the next three days fighting with you.
I said I was sorry, I meant it, and that's
the end of it. Know what. I am sorry that
(42:43):
I ever met you. I'm sorry that I got it
to your stupid car. As if you had so many
more appeal than options. You know what, I have never
had anybody make me feel so cheap as you did today.
(43:03):
Somehow I found that very hard to believe. M m hm.
Where are you going? I want my money. I want
to get out of here. M come on, I'm sorry. Oh,
(43:39):
I wasn't prepared to answer questions about us mm hmm.
It was stupid and and crew. I didn't. I didn't
mean it. Okay, I don't. I don't want you to go.
(44:02):
You stayed, when you stayed the week? Why why? I
saw you talking to David Morris and I didn't like it.
We were just talking. I didn't like it. H m
(44:31):
hm hm you really hurted me. Yes, don't, I'll do
it again. Seen great job, great job, great job. A
(44:58):
couple of things, um, just new things leon Um. In
the beginning, you tell us who he is, ear muffs Ryan.
He you say he's an asshole. So that gives a
clue to you, Miles, how you should be, because what
would be nice is seeing you come from that to
showing your vulnerability when you say I'm sorry, that's gonna
(45:21):
be the switch, right, and then with you lean when
you said, um, Um, I should have never gotten in
that car or you're What you're really saying is I
hate you so much, you know, and that's a pilotal
point for you. So um you you you play him
as an asshole until you you don't and that's what
(45:43):
we see your transition in that scene. Does that make sense? Yeah,
it's totally okay, excellent? Um okay. So that is the
end of class in session. Put your hands together for
Lee in the motto and welcome Miles from Yes. All right, well,
(46:04):
give Love is next, so stay tuned to the Spirited
Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. Thank you, and now
it's time forgive Love. If we all believe we will
get through all challenges and obstacles before us, then we will.
If we all believe that we won't get through obstacles
(46:26):
and challenges before us, then we won't. It works both ways, however,
sometimes we only see one way. Challenges build character and
all of us as actors, the characters you portray are
all going through something, then they overcome it. That's what
(46:49):
stories are made of, challenges and triumphs. Thank you for
joining us on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
I look forward to our next Spirited podcast. Thank you,
Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me
Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and
TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transition to
a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New
Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Thomaz.
I audition every rapper from Biggias Balls to Tupac, and
(00:24):
I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help
transitioning to acting. My clients consist of musical artists from
Buster Rhymes to Eve, Missy Elliott, Angela Ye from The
Breakfast Club, and Vanessa Simmons, to name a few. I
also coach sports stars and host as well. I feel
(00:45):
I have the best of both worlds. As a casting director,
I know exactly what they're looking for, and as an
acting coach, I can coach you to be remembered in
that room. Now I know, I know actors want to
get the job. I get that, but being remembered by
a casting director that is powerful. And now it's time
for meditation of the day. You must begin wherever you are,
(01:10):
Jack Boland. As an actor, you are going to be
required to make a lot of decisions in your life.
If you learn now to trust your inner voice, you
will make the right choices because those choices come from
a higher place. I have had endless situations where I
(01:31):
have listened and learned from my inner voice. If acting
is what you truly want to do, then do it.
Do it with love, and share your talents with the world.
They may not appreciate love them all the time, but
the important thing is that you do today. I will
(01:54):
allow my inner voice to coach me along the way.
Welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
And I can't even begin to tell you how heartwarming
this conversation is going to be today, I am. It's not.
(02:16):
It's gonna be riveting. Um, it's truly inspiring. Um. John
is so many things. He are our guest today is
I want to say, producer extraordinary. I always add extraordinaire John,
So yeah, I'm gonna give you that. He is producer,
award winning, producer, extraordinariy. Mr John Michael Reefer, put your
(02:41):
hands together, ladies and gentlemen. Yeay, John, Welcome to the show. John,
Thank you well, it's a it's a pleasure to be
sitting here. Chatting with you. We're all chatting from home now. Yes,
we are in isolation for a reason. And um, I
love I mean just to start off, ladies and gentlemen,
(03:05):
to see the background, which is, um, I can't even
just is this a poster board that is aren't rigged? Yeah,
it's supposed to board. I mean I made it into
my back round, but I have it all the time,
so it's suppost to board on. What I decided to
do is so all the projects that I'm interested in
keeping track of or developing, I've got them listed in
(03:28):
order of genre, so docuseries, films, books, um, pitch ideas,
I've got them listed. And then who's involved in the
projects as that changes um. And then in terms of
the hierarchy of which project is further along in development,
which is of it needs more work or sometimes just
(03:48):
have to let it go one of the projects that's
on the board. Um, don Cheeto, Uh, I don't. I
wouldn't say cheated me out of but don Cheeto found
it as interesting as I did to raise money more
quickly than so I'm looking forward to to their interpretation
of it. Okay, Well, I mean for for my audience
that cannot see this. Um. It is so organized, it
(04:14):
is so thorough, it is so clean, like you know, UM,
I have to say that. UM. In all the years,
which is well over twenty years that I've known you,
it has been such a pleasure to watch your growth
in this industry. And we grew up together, so you know,
UM going back to you know, to the early Spike
(04:37):
Lee days. UM, and you earlier than me, um because UM,
yeah yeah, not yeah, I mean I was there. I
just hadn't gotten to forty acres in the mule yet,
but you were there. I don't know if I don't
even know, for I don't think forty acres existed when
I was there. So my my real relationship with Spike,
(05:00):
I was hired as a costume designer for She's Got
to Have It, um, and it was as a series
of seven tiputous events brought me in front of him,
and uh it worked out and I got hired to
design the costumes for that particular film. I've been I've
been working on Sale. That was that was my first,
(05:20):
my first opportunity as a costume designer. I've been working
prior to that and working as a wardrobe person. My
original my My foundational experience was a Parson School design
and I worked as a designer. So I worked as
a kind of degrees to fashion design. I worked on
Seventh Avenue and I got a really great opportunity of
a friend of mine was having some difficulty at the
(05:42):
Light Opera Company in Manhattan and somebody I got fired,
I don't remember which one it is, and that person
I went in to help them with the costumes. It
was the Pirates of Penzance was also helping them. The
warder woman there worked for Woody Island's cost some designer,
and she said, you know you so pretty quickly, and
(06:03):
you seem like you know what you're doing. You want
to work such a joy. So she wrote this address
and said come here on Monday and we'll put you
to work. So that was the year that the Year's case,
but it was pop Rosa Cairo, and my first job
that day was putting a hem in that new or
Pharaoh was wearing. So that that began one of my
(06:23):
favorite movies working in the film because at that point
I was I was working on Seventh Avenue and my
career track was set to at some point be a
fashion designer. Have my own label and you know, be
Willie Smith, the third Oh my god, Willie Smith. So
I ended up working as a warder supervisor for I think,
(06:47):
I did another, I did another Woody Allen film, and
then I just I got sucked into the business and
I began working as a wigious supervisor and then in
art and uh. But as as I kept doing that,
I knew that my skill set is a fashion designer,
could be useful. So I kept looking for an opportunity
(07:08):
to custom design and a friend of mine, Tracy Kimilla
johns interes like and gave me the opportunity to design
a film, which is She's got to Have It mm hmm,
the first not the first, uh, theatrically released because he
had Joe's Barbershop. PRIs he done Joe's Barbershop. And I
(07:30):
knew a number of people from that experience. But I wasn't.
I wasn't in the cool loop because right really like,
I wasn't outside here. Well, She's got to have It
his classic, and I mean, you know, blessed he was
able to bring it back, you know, so that speaks
of its work. I wanted to share with the audience
(07:51):
that um, you know, UM, you sent me this beautiful breakdown.
UM tried to be a summary of your career. But
the last part, the takeaway. I want to read this
to the audience because I think that, especially now, it's
very valid. Right, so you say about your life the
(08:14):
takeaway of these stories, be open to luck happening to you,
Be willing to contribute your best efforts when you show up. Lastly,
do the right thing whether anyone is watching or not. Yeah,
I would say, I mean, I think the broader audience
(08:37):
for your podcasts are actors maybe yeah, I mean creative things.
And I think, you know, it's really really hard because actors,
they don't have any idea of the arbitrary nature of
what this is. I mean, an actor shows up in
a room and maybe they got some sides, maybe they didn't,
And I think there's a lot of that they tie
(08:59):
into that. I think I would suggest that they try
to let go of which is trying to just be
in the room. I've been in so many situations where
what the producers director was looking for specifically, and someone
else showed up, uh, and they showed up as themselves,
(09:20):
and the energy of them of being themselves created a
whole gravitational force shifted everybody's imagination and go, wow. You
know the the lead as a woman, she's blond and
she's tall, and she said, and somebody who is not blond,
not tall, and not considered sexy shows up and makes
(09:44):
and makes magic in the room. Be open to luck,
be open to be open to be open to the
possibility that you, indeed are the right person for the
moment that you're in. Uh, because you just you never know.
I mean, you're you as a casting director, no, working
with directors, the director will tell you I'm looking for this.
(10:05):
So you down in a in a grade, you know,
women that are five feet tall, women of a certain age,
and sorry, and then somebody sneaks in the casting room
and who's that right? And I always say, that's why
there's the eracers, liquid paper and to Lee Button's changes
happen all the time. For actors, I would say, be
(10:27):
open to luck. And in terms of people, creatives and productions,
be open to luck because you know you if you,
if you put yourself in the path of great opportunity,
let let the great opportunity unfold for you. Sometimes we
get tied to you get tied to a specific outcome,
(10:47):
and you know you let you let go what is
the better of the two outcomes? UM, and I and
I so appreciate love UM what you're saying directly to
actors because they need to hear this because a lot
of times it's about the media gratification. A lot of
(11:07):
times it's about you know, UM, making it happen and
moving it along. I want you to UM tell them
because you are an award winning producer, and I do
want you to tell them the story, the beginning and
how that par laid, because it is about your work ethic.
You know, I'm ladies and gentlemen, I'm not making fun
(11:29):
of his background. I'm saying this is why he is
where he is. You know, there's a plan, their strategy,
and you are also taking um advantage of this time
where we're all on the same plane right now, and
so we have two choices, and you've chosen to continue
to forge on and to coninue to continue to want
(11:52):
and we need to hear that and see that. So UM,
that's what that background is about. But it's also the
integrity that you talk about because you never know who
people are, right and just a quick little thing when
I was the casting director, My assistant and I we
would rush towards the elevator. Right as the elevator doors
(12:13):
would close, and we would say hold the door, hold
the door. And back then, you know, we had the
big VHS is camera black pod son right, so we
would say hold the door, hold the door, and they
and they'd be like uh right, and the door were closed.
Cut too. They would be the actor walking into the
(12:34):
room and I'm sitting behind the table, was the casting director.
Treat people's son. And that's the humanity part that I
love about you as well. So I want you to
walk them through that story. Uh, the last the last
story that I sent you, the first story, the first
The first story is just serendipity. Like I said, Tracy
(12:57):
Kamila Johns is a We were great schoolmates, um in
suburban Queens, New York, and we went We simply ran
into each other. I think she was working as an
extra on he project and I was a p A
or something, and she started to tell me that she's
involved in this really amazing project. UM, and I really
should meet the director and I I was really looking
(13:18):
for an opportunity to become a costume designer UM to
show my my worth, and you know I was. I
was open to her doing that. And I think what
I would say to people is, you know, you talked
to somebody who's an extra and they say, there's a
great opportunity. I think it could have been easy to
dismiss that and go, oh yeah, yeah, yeah whatever. Sure right,
I was open to it, you know, she she, she
(13:40):
and I've been really good friends for a long time,
and so I said, okay, sure, I set up the meeting,
and I think we had we had two meetings, and
you know, I liked the story. We talked about what
he was interested in, and I was hired. And this
was back in the old days. It wasn't that it
wasn't a complicated process. But I suspect that the person,
(14:03):
the two or three people that could have come before me,
uh would have been hired. So I'm not taking the
advantage of having luck worked for me and and show up. UM.
Then I wouldn't have had that opportunity, which has led
to some you know, great creative moments, long friendships and relationships,
and you know, I really really great first foray into
(14:28):
storytelling and moviemaking. UM from the ground up because that
was that was the first feature that I worked on
as a costume designer, and having worked on a number
of really huge, you know, ten twenty million dollar movies,
I didn't have any sense of how complicated movie making
was when we did She's Got to Have It. I
(14:49):
think that when weybe twenty of us in a very
hot loft and UM, I saw what people did and
understood that, and all those lessons imprinted on me as
I finally became a producer, creating work of my own
and helping other people to create work. All those lessons
from making She's got to Have It in a number
of indie, low budget movies guide my my hand as
(15:13):
we made movies until stories. You definitely have the work
ethic of by any means necessary. So I want you
to tell us about UM as an independent producer prior
to you getting there, how the story of how you
were able to UM land that job as associate producer
(15:34):
on the film. So I was making a movie, Uh,
it's it's I don't know if it's available anywhere. This
movie called The Game, which is a really interesting story
about about the Mayor's race in New York City and
it's offering confused with the Michael Douglas movie, which it's not. Yes,
and this movie has a little more bite in depth
to it. So I was a wardrob assistant on that film,
(15:56):
and the film had run into tremendous financial trouble. We
were shooting in New York at the Courthouse on the
East Side and uh, East Harlem, and the crew hadn't
been paid for I think about two weeks. So uh.
During that during that particular session, we're doing quote room scene. Uh.
(16:19):
At the end of lunch, the crew walked off the
set and they had a conflict. They demanded their money
and it didn't work out. So as we said that
there waiting because we were I was upstairs, I didn't
know all this was going on, waiting and waiting for
us to come back from munch. Finally someone says, what's
going on and how long does it gonna take? So
probably I mean an hour, hour and a half have passed.
(16:40):
So I go to the producer and I go listen, workstairs,
what's going on with you know what what's happening? And
I recognized, first of all, nobody was there. It was
just a producer and his wife, UM and he lamented
to me that they were demanding their money. Um, and
they all walked off and if I want to leave
to you, I could leave. And I wasn't part of
that sort of hierarchy, so I was like all right.
(17:03):
So I went up to see us pack up the
crew and pack up the casters and listen shooting more
so someone asked me what happened and I told him.
He said there was a dispute about money. Um. So
the crews walked off and this extra says to me, well,
how much money? And I'm like, well, I don't know, okay,
well can you find out? I'm like fine, So I
(17:25):
go down to the producers the extra upstairs, asking how
much money is this dispute over? The producer was fifteen
dollars it does at math wages for the last two weeks.
So I go and I tell this guy. Turns out
the guy the guy was an extra who was moonlighting
as an attorney, and he goes, is that all? That's?
That's all this was about? So I said him, apparently is.
(17:49):
So I introduced the producer and they started talking about
what it is, and we shut down for a week,
and that attorney helped us raise the back the fifteen
dollars to pay off the crew to get a new crew.
We got a new crew, we started shooting, we ran
out of money again. So it result making the first connection.
(18:12):
I got bumped up from wardrobe supervisor ward your assistant
to associate producer. So at some point the guy goes, well,
how much wh do you guys need? So then he said,
I said, well, I'm not really sure, so we'd be
take a meeting. We talked about it, and he helped
us raise the remaining budget for the film to complete
the movie. This is nine, This is nineteen eighties, six
(18:35):
eight seven, around the crash. Wow. He helped us raise
eight hundred thousand dollars to complete the film. That's so
I was. I went from wardrobe assistant to social producer
to producer, and you know that experienced. I decided that
(18:56):
I would I wouldn't make any story that anybody would
compensate me, or even times they wouldn't. So I made
music videos and infomercials and corporate and just anything, um that,
anything that I could forget a way to pay a crew,
get some equipment, and pay an editor. I showed up
(19:17):
and for a long time, you know, it was really difficult. Um,
it was very very often I did not make enough
money at the end of the year to breaking so
many time. For many years, not only was I for
a producer, I was on the margins of the edge
of the margins, right. But I got the bug and
(19:40):
I just I love telling stories and I began to
really gravitate towards helping other people tell their stories. Production
knowledge led me to understand how to execute. So for
a while and maybe two or three years, I made
students and I exclusively made student film. So I worked
with a number of graduate students from n YU, Columbia
(20:03):
u C L A. K. Hunter, and I helped them
make their films. UM and I was, you know, I
was able to have these really simple conversations. I read
the script, I talked to them. We talked about how
much money they had they needed to raise, how they
could deliver a film, and I helped them do that.
(20:26):
My resume probably includes about maybe fifty short films. I'm
really really proud of a number of A number of
those directors are household names or established figures in the
industry now that I can rely on for advice or um.
We sometimes connect on projects and work together. That's great
(20:48):
that you've maintained those relationships and that they pay it
forward like that too. I mean, that says a lot
about you, and you know the knowledge and the wisdom
that you're passing at the time on too the next year.
I mean, I think that what I've been able to
do with my skill set is really hone in on
not having much money but delivering in the end, because
(21:11):
the number you know, people get started to make a
film and they have these great ideas and for a
long time, I mean probably also the nineties, there was
a movement to get it in the can and a
number of people that I know still have movies in
the cast. I focused my sights a little longer, which
(21:32):
was how can we do how can we deliver this
movie and get it into audiences um hands, so it's
just a film festival or even if it's just for
your cousins, to to show your work, be proud of it,
and to learn because sometimes you make a story that
you really believe in, but you may not have the
appropriate skill set to execute that story. And then you
(21:54):
discover that. I mean, I recognize a number of the
people that I worked with in the past. They really
to really come to Jesus moment to realize that this
making making movies wasn't for them, storytelling money in terms
of managing executing this, this wasn't for them. And they
learned it ten dollars and five dollars and they didn't
(22:17):
learn it after raising a half a million dollars and
just embarrassing themselves because they weren't ready or this wasn't
for them. This is not for everyone, No, it's not.
There's a stamina that you need in this, you know,
just in general, and a body stamina, mind stamina, spirit
stamina to stay in because I'm sure you know as
(22:40):
well there are people that you work with in the
beginning that are not in the industry now by choice.
They look or got frustrated or you know, and so
that we were were a difficult place, you know, being
minorities telling stories that are of interest to us. I
think it is my hope that as we emerge from
(23:01):
this reset right now, maybe people will storytellers as well
as talent um begin to make a decision to tell
the stories we want to tell. One of the one
of the one of the real drawbacks of this business
is we are narrowly pigeonhiled into telling the stories we
think we can sell. When I work with student filmmakers,
(23:25):
I really encourage them to go for it because this
is probably the last opportunity you're gonna have to tell
the story you want to tell and say what you
want to say. UM. And then you know, the passion
that goes into that is the thing that people get
on screen when they see your story, and it resonates
with them because it's really a passionate story. But as
you as you get into the industry, you begin to
(23:48):
work with people who who's decision with the decision makers
who have decided what they think is important. UM. So
you know your your first and mostly sometimes only opportunity
is to sell an idea UM. And I think this
may be the moment that we need to take to
think about the ideas we just we simply just want
to make yeah, and use our energy, resources, talent and
(24:12):
team to make those stories. However we can at what scale.
I don't know if it's I don't know if it's
as important as it used to be to have your
movie UM in a theater where people sat down to watch, right.
I don't think that's ever going to go away. I
don't know if that is as important as it used
to be, which gives you altitude. You might not need
(24:34):
as wide an audience in order to have your venture
be successful in terms of paying off your investors or
giving you the opportunity to make your next project. I agree. Um,
what advice do you have to actors, especially during this
time where you know we are in isolation and um,
you know they're they're creative beings. You know. I encourage
(24:58):
them as actors to keep honing their craft and working
on acting. You know, we have zoom, so you have
the ability to read scenes with someone you know. Um,
I coach via Skype sessions. So as a producer, being inventive,
Twinkie Bird has this short film one minute. Um, you
(25:20):
shoot it on any smartphone device and um, you have
to shoot it, edit it and it's one minute, right,
So you know, what advice would you give them in
terms of writing their story? What story? Well, I would
say the first thing that I would say would seem counterintuitive,
which is to read. I think making an opportunity to
(25:42):
create depth in your understanding of the world will will
carry you in the room in a different way. So
I would say, read read books, read philosophy, read autobiographies,
read novels. I would also say, if you if you
think you have the act, learn another language, because if
(26:02):
you learn another language, then you have an opportunity to
delve into the stories of that particular culture, which again
gives you depth. Because I think what is powerful is
an actor understands the story. Right. Well, I'm the hero,
I'm the villain. You know, I'm a girlfriend, I'm the boyfriend.
But the story, the depth of the story, the archive
(26:23):
it So I mean in in the Western America, Shakespeare
is what people hold in high regard the number of
the number of other stories. Uh, but read read read, read,
read read. And I would say the other thing is,
you know, look at all the stories that look at
all the stories that were made from movies. I would
(26:44):
go back and read those books and watch those movies
because I think, again, you need to understand. You need
to understand what the filmmakers decided to do and how
they were inspired. So if you if you read the
book and see see that the the depth of what
the filmmakers has called from, you can walk in the
(27:04):
room with more depth than I'm the wife. You know,
you're the wife in nineteen fifty, your wife in forty,
you're the wife eighteen hundred. Um, you're the wife in
the third century. What does that mean? And contextually what
does that mean about how the character moves, how they breathe,
how they eat, what they understand about the world. If
(27:28):
you're if you don't have adaptive knowledge of these of
all these ideas, you you just read the size. Yeah,
you shout or you whisper when you it's more than that,
a lot more than that. Um. And I think building,
I think building a team is another important thing. Look
(27:49):
for people who are like minded in terms of especially
actors to work with, to bounce ideas off of, to
get clear, um, honest, supportive critique about your work and
your capacity. Okay, and the actors, I think you know,
act Look at a movie. Yeah, take a scene, get
(28:13):
your friends together, get a camera and and do re
enactments of those beats and those moments to see if
to see if you can find your own voice in
right or to see if you can understand what's happening. Excellent.
You know what. I'm so sad because this is the
end of the interview. Um. It flew by like I
(28:34):
have a list of questions that I did not get too.
It seems that, you know, I feel so blessed that
everybody that comes on the show. Um, they're just a
wealth of knowledge that we can't get in twenty eight minutes.
So John, again, I always extend the invitation to people
to come back, and I would love to talk more
(28:54):
in depth about your specific films and also your relationship
as a producer with actors. So I am gonna reach
out to you again, my friend. Um, So, John, I
know that the actors are so inspired by your words
and your wisdom. They want to reach out to you.
How can they reach out to you? Uh, anyone from
(29:16):
your listening audience, gonna reach me at John Reefer on Instagram,
John Reefer on like Frank on Instagram. Excellent, all right,
thank you for being on the show. It was It
was mind blowing and definitely inspiring. And storytelling this is
(29:37):
what we really do. We tell stories. So the stories
that are going on now, I'm sure there's some amazing
stories that are going on in our world right life,
in the time of the pandemic, there are a lot
of stories. Yep. So um, we will stay positive, we
will stay healthy and well. Um, so your hands don't
(29:58):
touch your face. Okay, all right, thank you, Thank you,
John Reef, appreciative of um. And next we're going to
have Class in Session on the Spirited Actor Podcast with
me Tracy Moore. Welcome back to the Spirited Actor Podcast
with me Tracy Moore, and this is my favorite segment,
(30:22):
Class in Session and we have Spirited Actor alumni lean
A Motto Yeah and welcoming for his first time Miles Ross.
Thank you my Spirited actors for being here and doing
(30:43):
the waves. Thank you for doing the wave. That's always important. Okay,
So we're gonna continue on with the show and we
have a scene that um, Leanne and Miles are going
to read. I'm gonna read the slug lines and I'm
gonna challenge you actors to email me and tell me
what a slug line is. You can email me at
(31:06):
the Spirited Actor Podcast at gmail dot com, The Spirited
Actor Podcast at gmail dot com and let me know
what a slug line is. I want to make sure
you're listening to the podcast and that you're learning as well. Okay,
so we're gonna start the scene off you guys ready, yes, okay,
(31:29):
Penthouse living room interior evening. Edward comes in, followed by Vivian.
Edward looks at his mail lying on a small table.
Vivian throws her hat and gloves on another table with
a nervous movement. Edward turns around to look at her. Yeah,
(31:50):
you are right, be fine. She walks away. Fine, that's
that's good. Seven seven fine. Since we left the mat,
can I get into the word? Please? Vivian interest the bathroom, asshole,
there's a word. She slams the bathroom door. I think
(32:11):
I like fine better. Edward drops his mail and the
newspaper on the desk. Vivian opens the bathroom door and
stands near the open door. You know what to tell me?
One thing? Why did you make me get all dressed up? Well? Well,
for one thing, clothing was appropriate. You know what I
mean is if you were going to tell everyone that
(32:32):
I'm a hooker, why didn't you just let me wear
my own clothes? I did not, I mean my own clothes.
When someone like that guy Stucky comes up to me,
I can handle it. I'm prepared. Edwards starts unlacing his shoe.
Vivian is trying unsuccessfully to open a bottle of Coca Cola.
I'm very sorry. I'm not happy with study at all
(32:56):
for saying or doing that. But he is my attorney.
I've known for for ten years. He talked to me
some kind of industrial spot. He's he's paranoid. So what
do you like my pimp? Now? You know? Do you
think it would just passed me to your friends? I'm
not some little toy. Look, you're not my toy. Okay,
I know you're not my toy. She walks towards that room. Vivian, Vivian,
(33:21):
I'm speaking to you. Come back here. Dadian was ready
to enter the bathroom, but she turns around. I hate
to point out the arbies, but you are, in fact
a hooker, and you are my employee. Look, you don't
own me. Okay, I decide who. I decided. When I
(33:42):
decide who, I refuse to spend the next three days
fighting with you. I said I was sorry, I meant it,
and that's the end of it. I am sorry that
I ever met you. She walks away into the bathroom.
(34:03):
You know, I'm sorry that I ever got into your
stupid car. He walks towards the bathroom, enters it and
starts taking his tie off in front of the mirror,
as if you had many more appealing options. If then
comes back to the bathroom door carrying a bunch of clothes.
I have never ever had anyone in my life make
(34:24):
me feel as cheap as you did today. Somehow I
find that very hard to believe. She gets out of
the bathroom with her arms full of clothes. She picks
up a small handbag and puts it on her shoulder.
Then she tries to pick up a larger handbag. Um,
where are you? Where you going? I want my money.
(34:45):
I want to get out of here. He gets his
wallet from inside pocket jacket. He opens the wallet and
gets a large wad of bank notes out of it.
They're all hundred dollar bills. Vivian, who has a move,
starts walking away towards the living room without taking the money.
She leaves interior penthouse hallway. Vivian, standing near the elevator,
(35:07):
nervously presses on the elevator call button. Come on, we
hear the penthouse for our opening, but Vivian doesn't look
at it and keeps looking at the elevator in front
of her. Edward is coming out of the penhouse and
walks towards Vivian. I'm sorry. I wasn't I wasn't prepared
(35:30):
to answer questions about us, and it was stupid and
and cruel and I didn't mean it. Okay, I don't
want you to go. Keep you stay the week. Why
(35:56):
I saw you talking to David morse O. I didn't
like it. We were just talking. He chuckles. I didn't
like it. The elevator door dings, The elevator door opens,
and a smiling Dennist appears down. Dennis feels some tension
(36:19):
between Edward and Vivian and stop smiling. He goes back
into the elevator, presses a button and the door closes.
You hurt me, Yes, I don't do it again. They
look at each other for a couple of seconds and
(36:39):
slowly walked back to the penthouse and seeing Wow, nice
you guys, nice Wow, I felt attention. UM. I'm gonna
give you guys a couple of notes. Um, So the
truth is, every actor has an intention. What do you want?
So what is the truth? Lean? What do you want?
(37:01):
I mean, I want to be with him, but I
want to people you know, respected, and he hasn't made
me feel anything less than that up until this point, right,
I want to feel important. I want to feel like
a priority and a person I think more than anything else.
Because him identifying you as a hooker, his friends identifying
(37:22):
you as a hooker, it's almost like permission to disrespect
you or you know, you're not really one of us.
So I think that just and he's the last person
that you would have thought that would have made you
feel like that. Right. So if you, Miles, you have
this front that you are keeping up, and that's not
(37:44):
the truth of who you are. Um. You may be
about that life and the money and you know, the prestige,
but in terms of the core, what do you want? Honestly?
Okay it you know, but it's kind of like trying
to keep that macho mannus about me, right, But that
(38:09):
that doesn't work in a relationship. You know, you have
to be vulnerable in a relationship. You have to try
to seek understanding. And at the end, you know, I
realized that, and I understand that, and I realized, you know,
some of the things that I said I shouldn't have
said from my own ego and from my own pride,
and before you come out of the penhouse, and this
is where actors need to do the work and prepare,
(38:31):
but before you come out of the penhouse, all of
that work needs to be done. You need to be
conflicted while she's at that elevator. Why are you conflicted?
You know, are you gonna be vulnerable? Which is you
know that's trusting? Do you trust her to be vulnerable?
There's a lot of stuff before you come out that
you need to go through the layers of because that's
(38:53):
going to give so much weight to the scene. And
then you just want to get out of there because
now you found the true lee and of what he
really thinks it m h and that you know, just
don't do it again. Whatever his act his reaction is,
it's got to confirm to you that he's never going
to do that again. He learned his lesson, because why
(39:15):
else would you go into the penthouse? Yeah, I have
to feel like like his sincerity about it. Yeah, that
has to resonating. And Miles, you have to give her
something to make her feel that. One of the things
that I do like is how you are giving these
breaths to her and these pauses, which is making it
difficult to really say what you want to say, and
(39:36):
she's not letting up on it, which is very engaging
to watch. Okay, so let's do it again, you guys,
and let's let's pull from those things. Let's pull from
the truth. The truth is both of you, Um, you're
at that stage where you both really like each other almost.
Let you know, we're past the lust and now it's
(39:57):
that place where it's like, well, who who am I
in your life? M hmm? What is you know? I mean?
And if you want me, fine claim me. Okay, all right,
let's see that. All right, So we're gonna do it again,
you guys, and I'm not going to read the slug
(40:17):
line whatever that is. Ladies and gentlemen who are gonna
email me and tell me, And I'm not gonna read
the action. You guys are just gonna go with the scene.
So we're gonna watch it. Okay, when are you guys?
Are ready? You? Are you all right? I'm fine? Fine?
(40:43):
That's good? Five five seven fine? Since we left the match,
can I can I get another word? Please? Mm hm asshole? Okay,
there's a word find better? You know what? Just to me?
One thing? Why did you make me get all dressed up? Well?
(41:06):
One thing? Clothing was appropriate? No, I mean you were
gonna just tell everybody that I'm a hooker. I did
not no, and in my own clothes. When someone like
like I stuck he comes up to me, I can
handle it. I am prepared. I'm very sorry. I'm not
(41:28):
happy with Stucky at all for what he for for
saying or doing that, but he's my attorney. I've known
it for ten years. You know, you thought you were
some some kind of industrious spy the guys per annoyed.
So what do you like, my pimp? Now? You think
you could just pass me off to your friends because
I'm not some little toy. But you're you're You're not
(41:52):
my toy. I know you're not my toy. Vivian, Vivian.
I'm it until you come back here. I hate to
point out the obvious, but you are, in fact a hooker,
and you are my employee. Listen, you don't own me. Okay,
(42:18):
I say who, and I say when I say who,
I refuse to spend the next three days fighting with you.
I said I was sorry, I meant it, and that's
the end of it. Know what. I am sorry that
(42:43):
I ever met you. I'm sorry that I got it
to your stupid car. As if you had so many
more appeal than options. You know what, I have never
had anybody make me feel so cheap as you did today.
(43:03):
Somehow I found that very hard to believe. M m hm.
Where are you going? I want my money. I want
to get out of here. M come on, I'm sorry. Oh,
(43:39):
I wasn't prepared to answer questions about us mm hmm.
It was stupid and and crew. I didn't. I didn't
mean it. Okay, I don't. I don't want you to go.
(44:02):
You stayed, when you stayed the week? Why why? I
saw you talking to David Morris and I didn't like it.
We were just talking. I didn't like it. H m
(44:31):
hm hm you really hurted me. Yes, don't, I'll do
it again. Seen great job, great job, great job. A
(44:58):
couple of things, um, just new things leon Um. In
the beginning, you tell us who he is, ear muffs Ryan.
He you say he's an asshole. So that gives a
clue to you, Miles, how you should be, because what
would be nice is seeing you come from that to
showing your vulnerability when you say I'm sorry, that's gonna
(45:21):
be the switch, right, and then with you lean when
you said, um, Um, I should have never gotten in
that car or you're What you're really saying is I
hate you so much, you know, and that's a pilotal
point for you. So um you you you play him
as an asshole until you you don't and that's what
(45:43):
we see your transition in that scene. Does that make sense? Yeah,
it's totally okay, excellent? Um okay. So that is the
end of class in session. Put your hands together for
Lee in the motto and welcome Miles from Yes. All right, well,
(46:04):
give Love is next, so stay tuned to the Spirited
Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. Thank you, and now
it's time forgive Love. If we all believe we will
get through all challenges and obstacles before us, then we will.
If we all believe that we won't get through obstacles
(46:26):
and challenges before us, then we won't. It works both ways, however,
sometimes we only see one way. Challenges build character and
all of us as actors, the characters you portray are
all going through something, then they overcome it. That's what
(46:49):
stories are made of, challenges and triumphs. Thank you for
joining us on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore.
I look forward to our next Spirited podcast. Thank you,
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